Azumurder Daioh
by Rick Danger
Summary: Murder! Chiyo Mihama's back in Tokyo for the summer, but her plans of fun and frolic with the old gang are interrupted when death knocks at Sakaki's door, literally! Will they find the killer? Find out in part one of this fantastic new series by me!
1. Death at the Door: Love Hurts

The Azumanga Murder Files

Chapter One

Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga stood in the "International Arrivals" section of the airport. She marveled at how big it was. The only time she had ever been on a plane was that time back in her senior year of high school when the whole class went to Okinawa. Osaka closed her eyes and thought back to that trip, a big, goofy smile on her face. She remembered the temples, particularly the _shisaas_, lion-like figures made out of stone that protected the temple from evil, she remembered the hotel and the time that Tomo almost threw Chiyo-Chan off a cliff into the ocean. Osaka even thought she could hear Chiyo calling her name,

"Osaka-San!" It was almost as if Chiyo were standing right in front of her. Osaka sighed. She missed those days. She opened her eyes and jumped at what she saw. Two orange pigtails stood in front of her, attached to them was Chiyo Mihama, the now thirteen-year-old genius from Osaka's school days,

"Chiyo-Chan!" Osaka cried, throwing her arms up into the air. Chiyo laughed,

"Thank you very much for picking us up! Tadakichi-San appreciates it very much." She gestured at an enormous pet carrier containing a Great Pyrenees who looked like he could barely fit inside.

"We missed you so much, Chiyo-Chan. What's it like in America?" Chiyo and Osaka searched the carousels for her luggage. Osaka placed her friend's three red suitcases onto a trolley next to Tadakichi-San.

"America is amazing," Chiyo said, "I live in a city called New Haven. We have a friend of the family there, and I got into Yale University's drama program." Osaka's eyes widened,

"Are you going to be a movie star, Chiyo-Chan?" Chiyo smiled,

"I hope so," She said, "I'd like to be an actress some day." Osaka and Chiyo walked out of the terminal and hailed a taxi. As the driver loaded their luggage into the back of the car, Osaka began to think what it would be like if Chiyo-Chan became an American movie star.

_An exaggeratedly long stretch limousine pulls up to a long, red carpet. Photographers are taking pictures on either side of the carpet and there are so many fans that they need to be held back by a line of security guards. A chauffer opens the door to the limo and out steps Chiyo Mihama. Fanfare erupts throughout the crowd._

"_Chiyo, Chiyo!" the photographers accost her as she walks down the red carpet, wearing a red, puffy dress with a massive bow on the front._

"_There she is! It's Chiyo, it's Chiyo!" girls shout as she walks by, all sporting Chiyo's trademark pigtails._

_Several months later, at the Oscar Awards, Chiyo has been nominated for best actress. She sits in the audience awaiting the announcement of the winner._

"…_And the Oscar goes to…" Chiyo grabs the hand of Brad Pitt, who is sitting beside her as her co-star, "Chiyo Mihama for her role in "_Azumanga Daioh: The Much Longer Movie_" Chiyo tries not to cry as she makes her way to the stage,_

"_It's such an honor to receive this award," she says, "There are so many people I want to thank, but most of all, I'd like to thank my friend, Osaka. Osaka. Osaka…"_

"Osaka-San, we're here!" Chiyo said. Osaka snaps out of her daydream and looks at Chiyo,

"Is your Oscar going to sit on your mantelpiece or in your bedroom?" she asked. Chiyo looked at Osaka but said nothing. She didn't know how to react to something so out of the ordinary. Chiyo paid the taxi driver and began to unload her luggage. Osaka was already at the door. She rang the bell again and again until they didn't even sound like separate rings anymore, but a constant hum After about thirty seconds, a tall, long haired woman answered the door. Osaka smiled,

"Good afternoon, Sakaki-San!" She said. Sakaki nodded and led the two of them inside.

"You'll be staying upstairs, Chiyo-Chan. I'll show you to your room in just a moment."

"Sakaki-San," Chiyo looked around the small living room, "Is this really your house?" Sakaki smiled and nodded, she had missed her little friend. Suddenly, Tadakichi-San, who had somehow broken out of his crate, began sniffing around furiously. He finally emerged, followed by a striped, brown cat. The two animals cased each other warily for a moment before remembering that they were old friends.

"Pikanyaa!" cried Osaka, pointing to the cat,

"Mayaa's gotten big." Said Chiyo, referring to Sakaki's pet Iriomote Mountain Cat. Sakaki smiled again,

"Let me show you around." She said.

That night, all six of the former classmates had gathered at Sakaki's house. Chiyo looked at her friends. It was almost like old times again. The six of them sitting on the ground, drinking juice and joking around.

"Juice is alright," said Tomo, the most energetic of the group, "But how about we tap into something a little bit stronger?" she promptly pulled out a bottle of sake. Yomi sighed,

"Tomo, why do you have to be so stupid?" Tomo smiled,

"Why do _you_ have to be so smart?" Yomi sighed again and punched Tomo hard in the gut,

"I don't think we can trust you with this kind of thing," said Yomi, "I don't want to have to apologize to Sakaki when you puke all over her brand new wood floors." Tomo burst out in fake peals of laughter,

"Yomi-Chan," she said, "You are _so_ funny! Ha, ha, ha!" Yomi looked across their little circle at Kagura. Kagura immediately understood the message and punched Tomo again in the stomach. Chiyo, ever the peacemaker, tried desperately to calm things down, but it was no use. The sake flew from hand to hand, each person trying to keep it away from Tomo-Chan. There was an enormous tussle between the girls, finally, however, they collapsed into a pile of heaving and wheezing and laughing.

"It's too bad we have to leave soon," said Tomo. Sakaki perked up,

"Why don't you all stay the night?" She asked. Tomo, hoping that was what Sakaki would say, jumped up,

"Alright," she shouted, "sleepover at Sakaki's pad! Woohoo!" Osaka smiled,

"We can tell scary stories!" she said. Tomo shouted some more but Yomi put her hand over her friend's mouth.

"Go ahead, Osaka." Said Yomi. Osaka turned out the lights,

"Once, on a night much like this one," She began, "Six girls were having a sleepover. They awoke in the morning…"

"Yeah, what next?" Asked Yomi,

"There was a dead person in the foyer!" The girls looked intrigued, if not a little disappointed by Osaka's delivery,

"What next?" Asked Sakaki,

"One by one, more people began to die, people they barely knew, all showing up in that one house…then finally…they woke up on the last morning, and their rooms were all drenched with blood!"

"Whose blood was it?" Chiyo asked, shaking in her slippers.

"Nobody knows!" Said Osaka. The girls stared at her for a while longer,

"Is that it?" Asked Kagura. Osaka nodded.

"I think it's high time we went to bed." Said Yomi, and they did.

The next morning, a terrible scream awoke all the girls but for Sakaki. She was standing on her front step, paralyzed with fear. The others quickly gathered around her and saw what had frightened her so. A young girl lay on the sidewalk right in front of Sakaki's house. She was drenched in her own blood, which pooled around her head almost like a halo.

"Oh my God," said Kagura, "that's—"

"Kaorin." Sakaki finished. It was indeed Kaorin, the girl who had been so infatuated with Sakaki in high school. She was dead. It was clear what had killed her, a perfect hole in the middle of her forehead, a bullet hole. Chiyo turned her head and looked as though she might vomit,

"I'll call the police." She choked, she ran back into the house and quickly found the phone.

"Time of death seems to be about three o'clock this morning." Said the constable, "One shot to the head killed her right off the bat." Another officer approached him,

"Any signs of a struggle? Robbery? Anything?"

"Doesn't look like it." The constable continued, "Probably just some crazy who got his hands on a gun, take her away." Sakaki approached the constable,

"Is that all you're going to do?" She asked, furiously, "I knew that girl! She was my friend! You aren't going to even try to solve her case?" the officers looked at Sakaki and shrugged,

"We get so many of these each year. I'm sorry for your loss, but there's not much I can do for you." Sakaki's eyes began to well up with tears,

"At least call me when the autopsy results come back. Please, I need to know exactly what happened!" The constable shrugged and they loaded Kaorin's body into a truck, under a blanket labeled "evidence". Chiyo came up behind Sakaki and patted her back sympathetically,

"I'm sure there was nothing they could do." She said, tears streaming down her own face. Sakaki turned on her,

"That's not true," she said, "They could have at least tried! If they won't do it, I will."

"Wait!" Chiyo called after her friend, "It's too dangerous to—"

"I've made up my mind, Chiyo-Chan! I'm going to solve Kaorin's murder and nothing you can say will stop me!" Chiyo sighed,

"I was _going_ to say…it's too dangerous to go it alone!"

"What?" Sakaki stared at her little friend; she looked so mature right at that moment. There was an undying devotion behind those big, brown eyes of hers. Kagura, Yomi, Osaka and Tomo stood behind Chiyo,

"That's right," said Yomi, "You can't do it alone." Kagura nodded, Osaka stared blankly at Sakaki, but Sakaki knew what it meant,

"Time to solve a mystery! Yeah, alright!" Cried Tomo, before receiving two more crippling punches from Yomi and Kagura together. Sakaki knew they were right. If they were going to find Kaorin's killer, they would have to stick together.


	2. She's Gone: Chiyo's Mysterious Abduction

The six girls stood beside the chalk outline left by the police on the sidewalk.

"What was Kaorin doing outside your house at three o'clock in the morning?" asked Kagura, pacing the chalk line,

"She wasn't," Chiyo answered, "Look." She pointed to several red blotches leading to the end of the street.

"Is that…blood?" Sakaki's face blanched as she said it. Osaka nodded,

"Maybe we should see where it leads?" She said, beginning to walk down the street in the direction.

"Osaka, no!" shouted Yomi, tackling her and pinning her to the ground.

"What's wrong, Yomi?" Yomi just rolled her eyes; if Osaka didn't know why not to follow a mysterious trail of blood she certainly wasn't going to explain it to her.

"We're not going anywhere until we find out who was with Kaorin yesterday!" Sakaki said, "She used to hang out with Chihiro a lot. Let's start there."

Tomo banged on the door of Chihiro's house with both fists a few minutes later.

"Let us in," she yelled, "Let us in, let us in, let us in let us—" Sakaki covered Tomo's mouth and gingerly tapped the door,

"It's Sakaki," she said, "Sakaki, Chiyo and Tomo." Chihiro opened the door, looking a bit frightened.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, stepping out onto the landing and shutting the door behind her, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sakaki sighed,

"Well, Chihiro," she began, "I need to know when the last time you saw Kaorin was." Chihiro looked confused,

"We went out shopping just yesterday," she said, "in Shibuya. We had lunch, we walked about and then we went home. Why do you ask?" No one said anything for a while until both Sakaki and Tomo looked down at Chiyo,

"What are you all looking at me for?" She asked. Yomi and Sakaki simplny continued to stare. All at once Chiyo understood the message,

"It's very hard for me to say this, Chihiro," Chiyo began. She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact with Chihiro, but finally she knew she would have to tell her, "Kaorin was murdered early this morning." Chihiro croaked, she couldn't seem to breathe,

"I'm so sorry." Said Sakaki. Chihiro finally spoke,

"No, no," she said, "don't apologize." Chihiro turned away and wiped her eyes,

"We're gonna need to see the receipts for whatever you and Kaorin bought yesterday." Said Tomo,

"Of course." Chihiro answered and with that she disappeared into her house, reappearing a minute later with a few slips of paper,

"This is just the stuff I bought," she said, "Kaorin bought the most adorable little outfit," Chihiro tried her best to choke back the tears lingering behind her eyes, "It was a little pink and white dress with stockings and a kitty-cat hat." Sakaki's eyes went wide and she gasped. Chihiro had described the outfit that Kaorin was found in. Chihiro excused herself and went back inside her house.

"Well, I guess we know one person who _didn't_ kill her…" said Tomo. For once, everyone just ignored her and kept walking.

At dinner that evening, the six of them sat around the table, talking about the day's findings,

"So," asked Yomi as she and Sakaki laid out plates of spicy fish curry, "What did you find out from Chihiro?"

"Well," Tomo began, a thin stream of curry trickling out of the side of her mouth, "We know that she was with Kaorin in Shibuya and—"

"I'm sorry," Yomi interrupted, "But I can't listen to you unless you wipe your face and finish chewing, it's disgusting!" Tomo rolled her eyes and dapped in an exaggeratedly ginger way at the sauce on her mouth,

"_Anyway_," she continued, "We found out that the two of them went shopping in Shibuya yesterday, that's where Kaorin bought that outfit the police found her in. We're pretty sure it wasn't Chihiro who killed her." Osaka looked at Tomo,

"How do we know? Maybe she was jealous!" she suggested,

"Jealous of what?" queried Yomi,

"Her outfit!" Osaka said, looking decidedly pleased with herself. Everyone groaned and pretended they hadn't heard her. Osaka was always spouting nonsense like that, no one really knew what was wrong with her, but they loved her anyway,

"Thank you for the wonderful meal!" Chiyo exclaimed to break the silence. No one really spoke that evening; the flimsy façade of a quiet, pleasant dinner was fading by the second. Finally, Yomi broke up the awkwardness,

"Let's continue our investigation tomorrow," she said, "We can all go to Shibuya and check up on the store they were at. Just because we're investigating a murder doesn't mean we all have to act like dead people at the dinner table." Yomi knew that they were all hurting from Kaorin's death, but Chiyo was back for the summer, and they couldn't spend the whole time mourning.

The next day, the six of them all went to Shibuya to the store where Kaorin and Chihiro had been shopping a few days before. The store was called "Neco Connection" and was primarily a shop for specialty costumes themed around cats. Sakaki had to try hard to stay with her friends. This was not a shopping venture. It was an investigation. She told herself that over and over as Tomo demanded to see the manager.

"I demand to see the manager!" she shouted at the cashier,

"What seems to be the problem, miss?" the cashier said, trying to remain calm under the white hot fury of a rampaging Tomo,

"There is no problem," Tomo was getting louder by the second, "We just need to see the manag-agh!" Yomi did her famous double-chop on Tomo's head and walked up to the cash,

"We need to talk to the manager," she said, waving Tomo away, "I'm afraid it's of the utmost importance." The cashier smiled,

"I'll see what I can do." She said and disappeared into the back room. A moment later, she returned with another woman, the girls assumed her to be the manager,

"You said you needed to speak to me," she said, "Ritsuko tells me it's important." Yomi gestured to the woman,

"Manager-San," she said, "We need to know if you saw this girl two days ago." She held up the crime scene photo of Kaorin, the manager nodded,

"She bought that outfit here with a friend of hers, there was this guy following them...I thought nothing of it at first but now…oh dear…" Yomi smiled at the manager,

"Thank you for your time, Manager-San. We really appreciate it. Come on, girls, let's go!" Yomi almost had to drag Sakaki out of the shop. They all sat down on a bench outside, Chiyo bought six cones of shaved ice,

"So," she began, "What can we do now? We know that a mysterious man followed Chihiro and Kaorin out of the shop, but we have no idea who it was!"

"Unless…" Osaka began,

"Unless what?" Asked Kagura,

"Unless we have a videotape!"

"A videotape?" Asked Sakaki,

"Yes," Osaka continued, "I saw it on TV! The stores have security cameras! We can see who it was if we get the security tape! Brilliant, Osaka, just brilliant!"

"That's a great idea, Osaka-San!" Chiyo exclaimed, the others murmured their approval,

"Wait a second," Sakaki interrupted, "I doubt the manager of the store would give her security tapes to six random girls off the street!"

"But we aren't random girls…" Said Tomo, pausing for dramatic effect, "We're girl detectives! Just like in those books!"

"Nancy Drew?" Osaka suggested,

"No, no, no! Harry Potter!" Tomo answered. The five others didn't say anything more. Osaka was not the only one who could say stupid things sometimes.

"Anyway," Kagura said, getting them back on track, "How in the hell are we going to get those tapes?" the other's looked at Chiyo,

"Not again!" she said.

Later that day, Chiyo entered Neco Connection and snuck into the room labeled "Security: Authorized Personnel Only." Once inside, she grabbed three tapes from two days before and tried to run for it. Once outside the door however, she felt a hand on her shoulder,

"Just where are you going, little girl?" Said a cold, slimy kind of voice. Chiyo looked up, shaking with fear, to see a man had grabbed her. He was short for a man of his age, which, judging by his balding head seemed to be about forty. He wore very nice clothes but his skin was a little greasy,

"I was just…" Chiyo began, "I got a little lost and…" The man held her right shoulder, so with her left hand she pushed the tapes deeper into her bag,

"Why don't I help you find your friends?" he asked,  
"Thanks, but I really need to get going and—" Before Chiyo could protest any more, the man whisked her away from Neco Connection and from her friends. She tried to scream but the man had put his hand over her mouth. A moment later, she felt herself being put into a car and buckled in. It was at that moment that she realized her hands had been bound. All Chiyo could do was weep quietly as the car drove on and on. She knew what this mean. She was certain that this would spell the end of Chiyo Mihama.

**Will Chiyo make it out alive? Will the others ever find out if this man is really Kaorin's killer? Find out in the exciting conclusion of "Azumurder Daioh Volume 1"**

**Also, look forward to the other two volumes of the Azumurder Trilogy coming soon to **


	3. NekoSan: Chiyo's First Escape

About twenty minutes later Chiyo was dragged out of the car and dropped into a chair. She squinted as the bag was removed from her head and she was hit with a wave of bright, white light. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw that she was sitting at the end of a long table. On the other end sat the man from the store, or at least, she thought so. The light in her eyes prevented her from seeing anything other than his hands,

"Why am I here? What are you going to do to me?" Chiyo demanded, struggling at the ropes binding her hands together at the wrists. The man laughed a cold, high-pitched laugh,

"All in good time, child. All in good time, but now I need to ask you a few questions. Question number one, what were you doing with the Neco Connection security tapes?" Chiyo gasped,

"How do you know about those?" she demanded,

"I'm afraid you haven't answered my questions, darling. Now, the tapes, why did you have them?"

"I don't have to answer to you!" Chiyo cried. The man clapped his hands and before she knew it, two others were dragging Chiyo. She was pulled through a long hallway, past door after door after door until he was pushed through one of them. She fell to the ground and heard one of the men walking behind her. Chiyo shut her eyes and waited for a gunshot or something that would end her life quickly and painfully, but none such appeared. Instead, the bindings at her hands and ankles were untied.

"Stay here," Said one of the men. Chiyo sat up and stared her abductor in the face; he threw something at her, something cloth. It fell on her head and obstructed her vision, "Your master orders that you wear this." And with that, he left. Chiyo was left alone in the room. It turned out to be a very, very pink bedroom. Chiyo imagined it being inhabited by a child in some anime series. Then she looked at what the guard had given her to wear; a dress, stockings, shoes, even a tail and a pair of ears. Chiyo looked as though she might be about to be ill; did this sicko really expect her to act as some kind of neco girl? The outfit was wrapped up with a diagram of how it was supposed to be worn. Along with it came a note:

_You are to wear these clothes and serve the master whenever he asks. _

_P.S. You are always to refer to him as "Master"._

Chiyo looked as though she was definitely about to be ill, but she had seen first-hand what had happened to the last girl who had displeased "Master"

Meanwhile, back at Sakaki's house, the five girls were thinking of how to get their friend back,

"Well," Yomi began, placing her head in her hands, "We don't even know who took her. How can we know where she is?" The other's thought about this. Yomi was right. All they could do was hope that she was all right until they found a new lead.

Chiyo found that in the room where she had been placed, there was everything a typical girl would want, except a phone. _Well, now I know it won't be quite that easy…_Chiyo thought as she searched the rest of the room. Suddenly, a knock came at the door,

"Are you dressed?" asked the voice that preceded it. Chiyo scrambled to her feet,

"Yes…or rather, just a moment!" The guard would have entered regardless of the response,

"Your Master requests that you join him for supper." He said,

"Tell him I'm not hungry." Chiyo retorted bitterly,

"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss." The guard dragged Chiyo again down the hallway until she was seated at a table in a large and ornate dining room. The Master was already seated at the other end, sipping wine from a tall glass.

"You look absolutely adorable, Neko-San." He said as he shot Chiyo a wink. Chiyo shuddered slightly but thanked him nonetheless. Two guards soon swooped in with the meal. Roast beef with baked potatoes, peas, turnips and salad. Chiyo ate delicately but still managed to get some sauce on her cheek. She lifted her napkin and dabbed gently at her face. When she went to put it down, however, she had an idea. _Paper napkins._ She thought throughout the rest of the meal.

That night, when she returned from supper, she found the stash of crayons in the top dresser drawer. Quickly, she took the napkin and scrawled out, _in a warehouse from: Chiyo_ on it. She pushed it out the small window near the ceiling and watched it flitter away. She just hoped her friends would find it…

Osaka and Tomo were walking around the waterfront when Osaka noticed something stuck to Tomo's shoe.

"Tomo-Chan! There's paper on your shoe!" She exclaimed. Tomo peeled off the dirtied scrap,

"I can't really read it…" she said, "It's so dirty." Osaka took it in her hands,

"We've found Chiyo!" She said excitedly, running off down the pier.

"Master," a guard spoke softly into the Master's ear that night at supper, "There were some kids sniffing around the place this afternoon, asking to come inside…" he simply smiled,

"Well, Neko-San, it seems we'll be leaving sooner than we thought." He winked at Chiyo in the way he always did, "Pack up her things, Bruno. It's time to go."

A few hours later, Yomi, Osaka, Tomo, Kagura and Sakaki had found a way to get into the warehouse, but when they entered, they saw nothing but a few scraps of paper. They were notes from Chiyo, saying that she had been taken somewhere else, but also that she didn't exactly know where.

"But I was sure Chiyo was here!" Osaka said, still searching.

"She was," said Kagura, "She just isn't anymore…"

**This has been Azumurder Daioh Volume One! Volumes Two and Three will begin production soon!**


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